Screamin' Detroits

[Dean]

Folks, there are two camps here. Those, like me, that love 'em, and those that hate 'em, so this should create some activity.

I'll premise this post by stating that I'm prejudiced because I grew up with 2 cycle Detroits. My Father was the GM Truck and Coach field engineer for all of KY, TN and parts of WV, OH, and IN for his 30 year career with GM from 1939 until he retired in 1969. He was with GM in the South Pacific in WWII and bounced around in the SE for a few years after the war before he could get the territory that he wanted near Cincinnati. He knew more about Detroit Diesels and Allison transmissions than anyone else that I've ever known.

Detroits were premium engines. They were not cheap. As a result, they were not common in farm tractors, but some were used in the boom times of the 1950s and 1960s for various reasons.

We all know that Detroits were 2 cycle HP engines. They were not torque engines. They were kind of like your 2 cycle Lawn Boy engine or your Yamaha motorcycle engine. Great HP in a small, lightweight, package. There were no Briggs lawn mower engines around in the 1950s or 1960s that could make the HP of a Lawn Boy engine for anywhere near the size, weight or cost.

Because Detroits were not luggers, they were marginable for many farm tractor applications. They were not well suited for heavy tillage unless equipped with a torque converter like the Oliver Lugomatics. Torque converters, of course, added even more cost above and beyond the cost of the expensive Detroit engine. They also introduced inefficiency. There were other less expensive alternatives.

That said, NOTHING made the HP that the Detroits made in a similar size and weight package.

Detroits were designed to last just about forever. Given recommended maintenance and without abuse, nothing lasted longer.

OK, folks, I've stated my case.

Bring it.

Dean
Detroit Diesel

 

[David G]

Cool story, thanks.

 

[GreenEnvy]

We have a 1975 cabover Pete with a 8V92 435 hp that we used for hauling water and hay. I don't mind the Detroit just trucking around the farm but going down the highway I prefer Cat. That 8V92 will actually lug pretty good but the temperature gauge instantly starts climbing. They had the power too. My neighbor back in the day got started farming with a Oliver Super 99. He pulled a 20ft chisel or "duckfoot" plow when everybody else was pulling 14-16ft with JD 830s and Case 900s. And don't forget some of the biggest tractors ever built were powered by Detroit. Big Bud 747, 650, and Rite 750s.

 

[buickanddeere]

. The Detroit’s had torque . They had 100% of torque from just above idle to redline .
Four strokes loose airflow capacity above mid rpms and loose torque as they approach max HP and redline .
A Detroit is still pulling hard right to the rev limiter .
The four stroke “lugs” because it can’t maintain max HP and looses rpms until it can fully fill the combustion chambers with air .

 

[lenray]

I have a 1964 M R S tractor with a 471 Detroit. 4x4 and 4 wheel steer. Just touch the starter button and it is running.
Any of you folks familiar with the Mississippi made M R S tractors???? Mine is the I-80 model.

 

[Dean]

Thanks, B & D.

When small, I well remember standing behind GMC city coaches equipped with either 671s or 6V71s and Allison two speed V drive transmissions (in neutral, of course), as my Father opened the governor to demonstrate something or other to the service manager or technician.

The exhaust blast from the blower would almost knock me over.

Dean

 

[westga]

Got a 471 on a Frick sawmill. The sound of the saw blade cutting with the Detroit straight piped thru the roof .......need i say more?

 

[Janicholson]

I built a charging system for a brand new fire truck chassis that left the Brockway plant in Chicago without one. It was an 8-92 with turbo over roots compressors. With no truck body, and a Allison CLBT 750 automatic I believe it was mid 500 in hp. On a test drive it it chirped the tires every shift. Dual 10.00 20s. there are three faults in the engine it would run on its own oil when it got worn (read runaway) It would leak oil as a natural part of operation, and it could not be made to pass stricter emissions requirements. The 6-71 piston and rod may be the most produced piston in the world. Jim

 

[old]

Back when I was still driving truck I was told to drive a Detroit one had to first slam there thumb In the door so you would be P.O. at the truck or in other words to drive on you had to keep your foot on the floor and run the living day light out of them. Oh and keep an extra gallon of oil on hand

 

[JD Seller]

Noisy and messy!!! LOL I never seen a Detroit of that era ever rust. LOL Friend had a 6-71/238 in a grain truck. It had a 13 speed with a double over in it. Never could figure that out the darn thing would run 90 MPH but could hardly pull itself in high gear on level going. He is fussy about his equipment. He spends a lot of time trying to stop all the oil leaks on that 238. He can have it oil leak free and haul a load of corn to Cedar Rapids and start all over again. LOL

 

[Dean]

I've never heard of the MRS, but am well familiar with the 471.

When small, my Father told me about WWII landing crafts that were powered by 4, 471 engines. The engines were clutched and geared to (IIRC) a single shaft such that if one or more engine failed, the helmsman could still maneuver the craft by declutching and shutting down the failed engine(s).

Of course, in WWII, most sailors and technicians had minimal training and did not really know what to do if things did not work out as expected. Hence, the redundancy.

I remember my Father telling me of a time in Leyte, when he was on a landing craft when one of the 471s was running away. The craft was at dock, so the engine could probably have been clutched to the shaft to stall it out, but the folks in the engine room were not sufficiently trained.

He told me that sailors were scrambling out of the engine room, expecting the engine to disintegrate. After all personnel had exited the hold, he went into the engine room and suffocated the engine by stuffing canvas into the blower inlet.

This was WAR, folks, and the engines, though quite new, were not being properly maintained by the 19 or 20 year old sailors with minimum training. The oil bath air cleaners had not been properly maintained and sea water, SP condensation, or both, had raised the level of the oil in the oil cups high enough that the engine was drawing oil from the air filters into the blower inlet. The governor was fully shut down but the engine was burning the air filter oil and running away.

I love history, folks.

Even small stories, such as this.

Dean

 

[Dean]

Yes, Detroits had the reputation for leaking oil.

My father told me that Detroits leaked no more oil than other industrial diesel engines, given similar maintenance, which few received.

He knew more about Detroits than probably all but half a dozen folks in he world, so I'll take his word for it.

Dean

 

[Dean]

Bingo, Jan.

It was federal regulations that killed the 2 cycle Detroits. It was not commercial factors.

FWIW, 2 cycle diesel engines are still the engine of choice for large marine engines (no doubt, because the regulations have not yet caught up).

Dean

 

[JD Seller]

The only other brand I have seen that will leak like them is a Perkins. I hated the 135 and 165s. Do an over haul and have it all nice and clean. Work half a day stopping oil/fuel leaks. Then see the tractor six months later and covered in oil/fuel. Run forever but leaked.

 

[Tom in Mo.]

Great stories Dean, thanks.

 

[Dean]

After my Father retired from GM in 1961, he consulted with Continental Trailways for a of couple of years. They offered him big money to manage their Indianapolis shops but he did not want to drive the 90 miles back and forth. Rather, he consulted 2 or 3 days per week for 12-18 months.

In the era, the Continental Trailways parlor coaches passed by our farm. There was a steep hill. I well remember the coaches passing by with black smoke blowing out behind and black oil reside on the back of the buses up to glass level.

Within 12+ months, and with no more than 2 or 3 days time per week in Indianapolis from my Father, the coaches passing by were almost spotless, rear as well as front. There was little smoke and no oil on the back of the coaches.

I've read the GM service manuals for these coaches.

Few did.

Dean

 

[Eagle Beagle]

The company I spent 22 years with as field service tech, used DD exclusively in mobile gantry crane power applications.

Running hydraulic pumps at full throttle is what these were meant for. There was no option for mid-range rpm. Old 6-71 and 4-53 in smaller cranes with nothing but a toggle switch for a throttle. Emissions regulations killed them even for off-road starting in California first.

 

[Dean]

Bingo, Eagle.

Detroits were ideally suited for round the clock operation at maximum rated output.

Change the oil and filters as recommended, and they would run "forever."

It was the know nothing federales that killed the 2 cycle Detroits. It was not commercial issues.

Dean

 

[Dean]

Sorry, folks.

My father retired from GM in 1969.

Sorry about the typo.

Dean

 

[JOCCO]

Dean I too grew up with them and was around them in the service. Lots of them in logging equipment. They do not bother me I work on them and still run them. People to day do not understand them and locally want nothing to due with them.

 

[2 colorgreen]

2 cycle Detroits are great engines. Consider they started production in
1939 and were still building 6V53S until 2006. Oil will drip out of the
blower box drain as it is designed to do. Any other oil leaks are the result
of not being maintained properly. Many of these engines were running long
after other engines had more modern technology, consequently they get a bad
rap. Tuned properly, they ran well and pulled as strong as other engines of
equal HP. Many 6-71s pulled 154,000 lb, doubles here in Michigan and drivers expected
them to keep up with a Cummins 335.

 

[guido]

Hello Dean,


DD factory school graduate 1976. Wrenched on them till 1995. latest engines were 6v92tt.Had some many apart that I started to memorize part numbers. Replaces many blocks as I was the first to find threads cracked on the ream main bolts. Did you know there was a kit to recirculate air box drip oil back into the crankcase? Only leak I had on my rebuilds was from the drip tubes. An
8v71T getting new innards,
Guido.

 

[Billy Shafer]

When I went into the boat shop in the Navy. My first job was to stop a 671. From leaking oil. I worked on it for three days before my first class. Told me it was my introduction to the shop. If a Detroit isn't leaking oil there is something wrong.

 

[Dean]

No, Guido, I did not.

My Father who retired in 1969 was the Detroit expert, not me.

Did you know that there was a vacuum powered oil "reclaimer" used on the late 1920s Willys Knights to recover engine oil lost past the sleeve valves?

Just pokin' fun, Guido.

Dean

 

[jm.]

Dean somewhere around 1965 or so , I returned from the Army and went to farming. Was at a state surplus auction and there was this AC HD 10 dozer, probably about 20+ years old. I bought the thing and my love for detroits started. Ran that old dozer for years on the farm. Had several 4070 IH road tractors with detroits and several wheel loaders. Had a new 4070 that had the top of the walk in its day. Had a *V 92 that had twin turbos on it. Truck would run a hole in the wind and gave pretty good service. At 76 years old I have one 3/71 setting down back in a roller that I plan on starting some day but over the years I suppose I have owned over a 100 for sure .

 

[dzc3]

Farmer friend of mine put a 8.3 in a Ford grain truck. Took out I think a 429 Gasser. The day it was delivered so pretty blue on a pallet, we took a picture of it and hung it on his bulletin broad it the office. Next morning there was a puddle of oil under the picture!

 

[4520BW]

I had the privilege of seeing one of them run away. Got me thinking why in heck anyone would want one of those dirty,loud peice of scrap metal.

 

[guido]

Hello Dean,

Sounds like you dad was the MAN! The first DD which was electronically controlled was 1986 if I recall correctly. Did spend some times on other engine overhauls,Cummins Caterpillar, IH,. All with factory training. I did in house warranty For DD and Cummins. Caterpillar did not allowed it, don't know why. Just a different bucket of bolts to me. Now you know I spend a lot of time making diesel smoke,

Guido.

 

[Dean]

Thanks, jm.

Allow me to digress a bit here.

My father was 45 years old when I was born. I was in my late teens when he retired from GM in 1969.

I was VERY MUCH into hot rodding in the late 1960s, mostly small block Chevys.

In 68/69, I had one of the quickest cars around (no, not THE quickest, but one of them). It had a 327 Chevrolet that had been taken just about as far as it could have been taken and still started and driven on the street. It probably produced about 450 HP.

I remember once speaking with my Father in the late 1960s about the Detroit Diesel engines. Being a "hot rodder," and knowing what fuel injection, roller cams, blowers, and even four valves meant, I questioned how much HP a 671 produced. IIRC, he said that it would produce about 180 HP.

I was stunned! 180 HP! My little 327 with two valve heads, carburetion, flat tapped cam, no fuel injection or blower could produce about 450 HP.

Son, he said, your hot rod engine may produce 450 HP at 6,500 RPM for a few minutes, but the 671 will produce 180 HP at 1,800 RPM, 24 hours each day without over heating for ten years with only enough shut down time to change the oil and filters.

I learned much that day.

Dean

 

[Adirondack case guy]

I have nothing against the Detroits. When we were Case a Case dealer, we had a Ford LN 9000 with a 6-71 and 10sp. ranger under a 24' tilt bed and a IH Transtar with an 8V-71 with 10spd. ranger under a Swartz single drop 40' trailer with hyd. beaver tail. We never had any issues with either truck.
My "Beef" comes when the CHROME PIPE guys think that their tractor need to be run wide open in low gear at shows and parades, to make an impression.
Well, they make an impression on me and others. "They need to grow up", and act their age. They ain't 19 and driving their 69 Chevy with a 396 any more.
Loren

 

[DR. EVIL]

When I was a kid and rode along with Dad hauling livestock to the Chicago Stockyards, all the livestock trucks were gasoline powered, but the freight companys were switching to diesels, and I thought the Detroits sounded "Cool" for the short time it took them to pass us, or pull out of a truck stop, or scale.
But when I started driving the company let me ride along with two guys who drove Detroit powered trucks, both IH's, S2200 with 6V92TTA, TransStar 2 with 8V92TTA, Both used a gallon of oil a DAY, V6 got about 5-6 mpg, V-8 about 3 to 3-1/2 mpg on fuel. AND THE NOISE, my ears would ring for 2-3 hours after I got home.
The trucks I drove the most, '79 White RoadBoss II's, 903 Cummins, got 3-1/2 to 4 mpg, added a gallon of oil every 8-10 days of driving. I didn't even carry oil with me. And I could hear my radio and tape player. I did drive a mid-70's vintage S2200 with a 290 Cummins and a 10-speed Road-Ranger, 4 mpg and burned 2-3 gallons of oil a week, It was Tired, and slow, 50-55 loaded heavy, 60-65 empty, but quiet. And you guys have NO idea how tiring the racket of a Detroit is when running them for 10+ hours a day 5-6 days a week.
I guess a bus with the rear mounted engine and driver way up front the noise might not have been that big a deal. But in a semi-tractor with the engine a foot or so away from your feet the noise separated only by a poor fitting dog house the noise makes it hard to concentrate, and stay awake. A Cat or Cummins was my engine of choice.

 

[grizz02]

drove a 8v92 in a new KW from Seattle to savannah ga. holy hell I was deaf, nerves shot, because of the hi pitch tone and vibration, took a lot of whiskey to get over that trip

 

[buickanddeere]

. An N-Series 6-71 with C70 injectors will make an easy 250HP at 2300rpm.

 

[Tony292]

My family roots. This old Euclid tractor ran a family farm in Indiana for decades. It was Detroit powered and it was said that when plowing it could be heard 3-4 miles away.and even at that far away my dad said you could tell if it broke the plow because the engine would change pitch. i don't know what size Detroit but I suspect it was a 6-110.

 

[john *.?-!.* cub owner]

I was raised on a farm across the creek from a tiff (barite) strip mine. From nearly a half mile away I could hear those Euclid truck engines roaring, and always loved the sound. Later when working summer help to make money for college I even got to drive one. I only got to drive it empty, but driving a 20 ton truck that can haul another 30 tons of dirt and rock was thrilling for a 19 year old boy.;

 

[jacksun65]

Nothing like the sound of a Detroit be it 6-71 8v92 etc. First one I knew well was my uncles silver 92tta in a white cabover. It was a great truck but he was not good about maint. I was a kid and knew more about it than him LOL. Ended up replacing the mufflers with strait pipes when he burned them out, He is still deaf today. Used to put an oil drum on the deck and just pump the oil into the engine. He killed it when putting brakes on one weekend, he didn't want to remove the tires from the drums and when we tried sliding them back on hit the seal. Two piece seal popped apart. I told him not to use it. What does a kid know, he made it to Chicago turned a corner and a set of duels went rolling past him.

 

[JK-NY]

Brockway trucks were manufactured in Cortland NY. Maybe you're thinking of a Brockway dealer in Chicago?

 

[JK-NY]

I spent 12 1/2 years as a transit bus mechanic and when I started 30 years ago half our fleet was 2 stroke Detroit engines married to Allison transmissions. The older ones were 2 speed automatics! When transit and coach buses went to diesel the Detroits were the engine of choice. As mentioned they were not low end torque engines that would pull when lugged but made a lot of power when kept in the optimal RPM range. So yeah I 'm a fan. Rare to hear them any more except ina roller , older log skidder or fire truck.

 

[mmfan55]

Personally have nothing good to say about the 2 stroke Detroit's. First trucking job I had: the boss had several Detroits. Wouldn't stay together. Some had to be rebuilt at least once a year. Bosses son truck twice a year. Noisy, weak, oil slinging poor excuse for an engine. May do okay in industrial applications but a sad excuse for a truck engine

 

[big tee]

Hi Loren-Good to hear from ya---Tee

 

[big tee]

Hi 4520-Good to hear from ya---Tee

 

[big tee]

When our air squadron was on the Yorktown we had to anchor out in the bay somewhere and take the liberty launches to shore and they had Detroits-The were about 40 ft. long-6-71s?---Tee

 

[rrc300 u]

I have no opinion either way but here's a story. My cousin started his trucking company hauling scrap in a dump trailer, he rolled in one time with a load and told my uncle to look in the back and see what he had. My uncle looks in back and says "it's a bunch of shredded metal". My cousin replied"this afternoon they were Detroit engine blocks and parts they ran em through a scrap shredder and into the trailer". My uncle told him that was as close as you want a Detroit diesel to be to your truck. This was in the mid 1980s. My cousin actually went and had a few trucks with the series 60 detriots and had good luck with them.

 

[4520BW]

Good evening T from flooded southern Indiana! I will say one thing about at driptroit it sure did go wide open in only a second! Scared the crap out of me! I hid behind a 7720 and waited for the boom. Would of been a big fiery mess if one of the students in the diesel tech had not grab a fire hose and walked up to it! ( he was in desert storm was working oil well fires)

 

[jm.]

Yea they were the choice power plant for rock quarries, logging and lots of construction. Somebody mentioned them being high priced but I was always told they were cheaper per horse power than any engine in the mid 60s. They were also big in marine because they produced so much HP per pound .

 

[CenTex Farmall]

Yes, very flat torque curve so no "torque rise" (as people say).

Very interesting dyno charts.

 

[Billy NY]

We had an '80 GMC Astro in'83, not very old or high mileage, 8V 92 & 13 speed road ranger. I went to Florida and back with it, hauled a big generator down, brought a load of pressure treated lumber back. Nothing really stood out to me good or bad, memory fades now, but so many trucks, buses and or large boats had them, all loud and liked to leak oil. Just a common family of engines, even those darned TS 14 Euclid/Terex scrapers we ran had them, I did like 627 Cat's better.

I ran a mid 60's Ford 850 tandem dump with a 318 and Allison trans, that thing was pretty snappy, never seen a dump body raise as fast at this one. Worst thing I can remember is somehow getting out of the cab and hitting my head so hard on the top of the door opening, it knocked me right out, like getting hit in the head with a lead pipe. I laid there by myself on this job site for quite awhile, that Detroit still idling, felt awful when I came too. I quit for the day, found out later it was a concussion. Loved that style of truck, just a small cab. Most were 5x4 with those big ole gas engines, but this was the diesel version, not many of those around.

Funny how you rarely hear them anymore, only time I can recall is the diesel shop owner restored an L9000 tandem dump with a 13 speed, used to like hearing him take it home from the shop, or the military tracked vehicle, one of his associates would run down the road here on occasion, makes me look over the hill to see whatever it is when I hear one of these. Sometimes an old firetruck will come by, seemed like all the firetrucks and city buses had detroits.

 

[Billy Shafer]

Same type we had. Plus two officers boats and the captains gig. I was assigned to the gig. So I didn't get to have all the fun. Of drunks throwing up,fights,girls trying to sneak aboard. I had to make all the functions the captain went to. Whites and staying clean was not easy.
USS Saratoga CVA 60

 

[RBoots]

At the heavy equip dealer I used to work for, I got assigned to a real nice engine swap project on old cranes. The deal was, if a contractor had an old Detroit powered crane, the govt would pay 75% of the bill to have these cranes refit with a modern (at the time, 10 or so years ago) Cummins electronic common rail engine, a few of the larger 8+ liter engine (whichever replaced the 8.3), but mostly 6.7s and the smaller 4 cylinder Cummins common rail (I forget the size now) in a couple. This was an effort by the govt to help reduce emissions, I didn't have any part in that, I was just doing the work. I think I did the refit to 10 cranes, about half crawler cranes and half truck cranes with 2 engine, one for the crane and one for propulsion of the truck. Most of the truck cranes had 6-71, 6V or 8V-71's for propulsion, and most had 3 or 4-71s up top in the dog house to run the crane. The bigger crawler cranes had 6-71s in the doghouse, but there was one smaller one with a 4-71. The replacement engines came basically as a powerpack or power unit, mounted on a heavy duty metal frame work with air cleaners and radiators mounted, always with a predetermined correspondingly sized SAE bellhousing and a flywheel of some sort. Keep in mind, the only easy mate of the engine was to the transmission on the truck cranes. As long as the right SAE bellhousing and flywheel for a manual transmission had been ordered. All of the engines that ran the crane functions, were mated to either a torque converter, or a massive gearbox with 4-6 hyd pump drives coming off from the back of them. Those ones required the original Detroit flywheels be sent to a machine shop along with the new Cummins flywheels to be mated together into one correct flywheel. All of these old Detroit engines had to be destroyed so that nothing could be salvaged for a running engine, which leads to my original story. It had to be documented that they were destroyed by a govt witness. We had to cut the crankshaft, and cut a hole in the blower, the block, and in the cylinder head. I had an engine that I was in the process of removing from the rear of a truck crane, it was a 4-71. It had been setting outside for a week while I waited for parts, in very cold temperatures, like in the teens for highs. The hyd pump drive gearbox that had been mounted on the back of the engine had been uncoupled and slid away from the engine. The engine was just setting there, bolted down, ready to be removed, but still had fuel and wiring to it. The air cleaner had been removed, so I could look right into the blower rotors from the top. That morning, I had just got to the shop and was going to pull the engine, so I decided to do a little experiment before I pulled it inside. I hooked a bungee cord to the throttle to hold it wide open, hooked up my remote start button, then climbed up and sprayed an entire can of ether directly into the blower. Not a small can either, one of the large cans. I sort of crawled under the upper structure for some sort of protection, and hit the start button. While that old Detroit roared to life at full speed in under a second it seemed, it never missed a beat or ran rough at all. It ran as though I had just shut it off and started it back up, only at wide open throttle. It was 5?F at the time I started it. I ran it without coolant for about wide open for probably 10 minutes while the lower engine that had already been swapped to the Cummins warmed up. It ran right along, wide open, that whole time, purring(?), more like screaming, up until I shut it off to pull the crane inside. And that concluded what my experiment of what would happen if an entire can of ether was sprayed into a very cold Detroit and started at wide open throttle. Count me as a Detroit fan.

 

[shinnery]

One time over 40 years ago I was at a spring shop in downtown Dallas getting some Mopar springs rearched/rebuilt and noticed a Ford highway truck setting there and commented about the "Jimmy" diesel engine in it. The driver heard me and got real excited "That is a DETROIT Diesel not a "Jimmy"!!!! LOL

 

[sammydwm]

Back during my days in Uncle Sams Canoe Club I spent a lot of time with the Detroits. On the floating drydock we used a 3-71 as the backup for the salt water cooling for the nuclear subs in dock.
Later on the tugboats we had 6-71's on the generators but they only spun at 1200 rpm. We had a 6-71 on the big fire pump and we would crank that up over 2 grand, always used to get a little scared doing that after listening to them at the lower RPM day in and day out.
Buddy of mine ran small craft out of Little Creek and they had 4 6-71s 2 on each shaft.

I recall seeing 12-V71s at the engine shop when I was on the tugs but I can't remember what they came out of....

 

[big tee]

Thanks--Anchors Away---Tee

 

[Dean]

They could well have been inexpensive when measured against HP produced. They did make more HP than anything else of similar size and weight.

Dean

 

[Dean]

Typical government insanity, RB.

Dean

 

[BushogPapa]

Oh yea, baby, they were LOUD in the cab...like a standing pressure wave, move your head 1/2" and it would bash your eardrums.!

One I loved was in the 1980's, on I-80 in Pa, near Bucksnort, we all heard a Roadway driver say "Boy, this is running GOOD, let me out in the left lane"..

Then, someone said "Yep...She's Gonna Blow.".!!!

 

[Janicholson]

The only thing I have to go on is phone calls and the drivers statements. He left (he said) the Chicago plant on a January morning 1978 to drive to Vermont to deliver the cab and chassis to the body fitting company (I remember LeFrance, but could be wrong on that). The cab was a cab forward flat face design, and the lights and heater were failing as he came into Ohio. The man was really cold, as it was about zero. The Phone call I made was to Chicago discussing the total lack of charging system. No alternator mounts, no wiring, no idiot light, no amp gauge. They had to go back into their records to determine that it had none. They wanted to have tha battery charged and driven back to Chicago for the charging system to be fitted. The driver said NO. I told them to fax the prints to our dealership (medium IH trucks) and I would build it for them. 2 days later (and 20hrs labor) it was down the road to the east. This was in Bowling Green OH. Jim

 

[Old Scovy]

Loren I well remember when you had those screaming demons. I drove some Detroit's but not much. When the 318's came out there was a joke going around ,Do you remember it.? I forgot most of it but the punch line was. This kid was driving a 671 and he passed this other truck and he came on the CB and said "I hate to be mean and pass you boys with the 318's but I am running late and it's hard to make time with a 238. Any one remember that joke? I would love to hear it again the way it should be told. .Jack . The Old Scovy.

 

[caterpillar guy]

DD most forgiving engine and the least durable in the truck industry. Had to put cardboard over the headlights to get over a hill. Forget a mountain. LOL As for the oil leaks just marking their territory. I drove the (350 horse) model 318 with a turbo hauling sugar beats what a gutless thing would fall onit's face crossing the cass and flint rivers on the way to saginaw. I suppose the 100,000 gross did have some to do with that though. They would make you deaf in a day running them. Gutless wonders. Terrible about working the bellhousing bolts loose in a truck too.
I'll take my Caterpillar for trucks and tractors. Still like the way those Cat engines will just set and pull without having to be run wide open all the time. If you let those DD idle long they would fill the ports full with carbon.

 

[buickanddeere]

Why wouldn't people wear ear plugs instead of going deaf ?

 

[buickanddeere]

DD port fouling etc had to do with operators that did not care about low ash single grade SF-2 rated motor oil.